Time Loop

When you work in retail/customer service/etc, it's easy to forget what day of the week it is. In fact, all of the days seem to run together into one recurring day. Like a time loop. My morning at work begins at 5:30--I wait in the chilly doorway until my coworker arrives. I punch in and we set up the store to open at six. Two regulars come in, always the same drinks. At around 7:30, the next employee arrives. We make drinks for the predictable morning rush. Polite small talk about the week or weather is always exchanged in the same manner. Everyone gets the SAME thing. Quad grande peppermint white mocha/venti pike with room/decaf tall nonfat cappuccino in a personal cup. They practically don't have to say anything...I just know. It's incredibly odd to feel like the same day is happening over and over and over again. And for the time being--in my black pencil skirt, black button up shirt and green apron--I guess there's no escaping this espresso saturated deja vu.

For a hilarious story about an ACTUAL staged time loop in Starbucks, pant-less people on the subway in NYC, and a fake birthday party for a stranger, check out Improv Everywhere and their spot on the This American Life episode "Mind Games".

I Miss Joe

Trader Joe, that is.

The great wine finds for less than $5.00, the easy meals, the delicious samples if you go at just the right time, the perfectly priced prices, and the manageable size of the store itself. I do love Wegmans (sorry West coasters if you can't picture this) but something about zillions of shoppers in a Costco size space and a long list of groceries just isn't my ideal errand.

Now a better picture: I walk into Trader Joe's in my Converse and Columbia soft shell, list of necessary groceries in one hand (I also pick up a Fearless Flyer on the way in) and three reusable TJ bags in the other. First the bread and produce area. Reasonably priced veggies and fruit? Indian naan alongside English muffins? Don't mind if I do. I circle to the back and grab a sample of something deliciously concocted by a food savvy employee. I approach the next aisle with the sustenance I need.

Why yes, I WILL buy at least two jars of raw crunchy unsalted almond butter because it is my one true love paired with a ripe banana. Goat cheese, tapenade, salad, and meat--I've got a good dinner shaping up here. Now for the wine--none of this upstate NY nonsense in a bottle. I've got plenty of nice NW or California choices for less than $10, heck even less than 5! I take a detour back to the register and grab a tub of chocolate covered raisins. I leave the store and exchange glances with other shoppers as I exit with my bags of goodies (something that nonverbally says, "I know, I love it here too").

There is a spring in my step. Grocery shopping is fun again.